Am I entitled to Statutory Paternity Pay?
Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is a benefit that is paid by your employer, for one or two weeks, if you have to take time of work because:
- Your partner has given birth to a child, or
- You have just become the father of a child, or
- You and your partner are adopting a child.
SPP can be paid to men or women. You do not have to be married to your partner. Your partner can be the same sex as you. You may also be entitled to SPP if you become the father of a child but you do not live with the mother. It can only be paid for the time you take off work in order to look after your child.
SPP if your partner has just given birth or you have just become the father of a child
Not all people are entitled to SPP. To work out whether you are entitled you need to know your qualifying week.
How to work out your qualifying week:
- Take the date your baby is due and write down the Sunday at the beginning of that week.
- Use a diary or calendar to count back 15 weeks from this Sunday.
- This will give you another Sunday, which is the date at the start of your qualifying week.
You are entitled to SPP if:
- You are the father of the child and you are living with the mother of the child or you expect to help with the upbringing of the child, or
- Your partner has given birth to a child and you expect to be the main person, apart from the mother, involved with the upbringing of the child.
You do not need to be married to your partner, and you can be the same sex.
As well as being in one of the above groups:
- You must be 16 or over, and
- You must have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks up to and including the qualifying week, and
- The child that you are claiming SPP for has been born, but is no more than 8 weeks old, and
- You must have also earned, on average, at least as much as the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit during the 8 weeks up to and including the qualifying week.
The National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit is £97 (April 2010 - April 2011) per week. This means that you must have earned at least £95 per week in each of the 8 weeks up to and including the qualifying week. You may lose your right to SPP if you are on reduced hours or on sick pay during the eight weeks before the qualifying week.
You do not have to have paid national insurance contributions to qualify for SPP.
SPP if your partner is adopting a child
You may be entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay instead of SPP if your partner is not already claiming it. It is worth finding out because Statutory Adoption Pay is paid for a lot longer than SPP.
You are entitled to SPP if:
- Your partner is adopting a child (whether or not you are also adopting the child with them), and
- You live with your partner (you do not have to be married to your partner, and your partner can be the same sex as you), and
- You must be 16 or over, and
- You must have worked for your employer continuously for at least 26 weeks up to and including the week in which you or your partner has been matched with a child for adoption, and
- You have been employed continuously from when you or your partner were matched with a child for adoption, and the day the child is placed with you, and
- You have also earned, on average, at least as much as the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit during the 8 weeks up to and including the week in which you or your partner has been matched with a child for adoption.
The National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit is £97 (April 2010 - April 2011) per week. This means that you must have earned at least £97 per week in each of the 8 weeks up to and including the week in which you were matched with a child for adoption. You may lose your right to SPP if you are on reduced hours or on sick pay during the eight weeks before the week in which you were matched for adoption.
Note: You cannot claim Statutory Paternity Pay for adoption, and Statutory Adoption Pay at the same time.
For more information about Statutory Paternity Pay, including how to claim and how much you'll get, follow 'next' below.
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Date Reviewed:
26July 2010
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